Vending machine gate mechanism



p 12, 1957 M. w. NEWBERRY 3,341,068

VENDING MACHINE GATE MECHANISM I Filed May 24, 1966 III WITNESSESINVENTOR (71W Meigs W. Newberry NEY United States Patent 3,341,068VENDING MACHINE GATE MECHANISM Meigs W. Newberry, East Longmeadow,Springfield, Mass., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation,Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed May 24, 1966, Ser.No. 552,459 1 Claim. (Cl. 221-67) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A combinedbrake and bearing to retard movement of a rotatable vending gate inproportion to the weight of articles to be vended supported on the gatecomprising a relieved bearing portion extending primarily on the side ofa vertical centerline through the bearing that is in the direction ofrotation of the gate.

The present invention relates to vending machines and more particularlyto a vending machine of a vertical column storage type that isparticularly adapted to vend relatively heavy articles such as cans orbottles.

Vending machines of the type containing large numbers of relativelyheavy articles such as cans or the like, are becoming increasinglypopular. In order to increase the storage capacity of a single verticalstorage column controlled by a single article release gate, the storagecolumns have been arranged to contain the articles in a corded stackrelation. When such a corded stack storage column is fully loaded, theweight of stored articles on the article release gate is considerableand may impart undesirable high movement speeds to the release gate whenit is triggered and moved to release a stored article. Such highmovement speeds may result in damage to the gate mechanism by the shocksencountered when the movement of the release mechanism is stopped afterthe vending of a single article to be vended. It is therefore desirableto devise a braking arrangement for the article release gate such that asubstantially uniform force will be required to move the gate within asubstantially uniform speed notwithstanding the variable weight ofstored articles being supported on the article release gate during thevending operation. With such an arrangement providing a uniform loadingof the gate mechanism, it is possible to predetermine the capacity ofthe electric motor used for driving the gate mechanism and thepossibility of overloading the motor is avoided.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a vendingmachine movable gate structure with a compensating brake arrangementthat will automatically provide a brake resistance to gate movement thatis proportional to the weight of articles stored and supported on thevending gate and thus provide a substantially uniform loading of thegate driving mechanism.

In accordance with the invention, a movable gate member is supported ona generally horizontal pivot axis beneath a vertical column of storedarticles in article supporting relation to the lowermost article. Atleast one of the pivot bearings for the gate is relieved about a lowerportion bearing surface so that increased bearing pressure andconsequent braking force against the movement of the gate isautomatically obtained in proportion to the weight of stored articlescarried on the release gate mechanism.

Further objects, features and the attendant advantages of the inventionwill be apparent with reference to the following specification anddrawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmental diagrammatic view partly in secton of the lowerend of an article storage column for a vending machine as shown toembody the vending gate bearing and brake structure of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view partly in section showing the articlegate member of the invention as it is mounted at the lower end of anarticle storage column; and

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line III-III of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawing, a single article storage column and associatedarticle vending gate mechanism embodying the compensating brakearrangement of the invention is shown. It should be understood that theinvention may be applied to any vertical column vending machine whetheror not a single storage column or a plurality of side-by-side articlestorage columns are used. As shown by FIG. 1 of the drawings, the lowerend of the vertical article storage column is comprised of the curvedinwardly converging side walls 10, 11 forming a funnel stack in whicharticles such as the cans 12, 13 and 14 may be stored in a corded stackrelation. The lowermost article such as the can 12 is supported on thearticle release rod 15 of the vending gate or cage 16 and the cage 16includes other equal angularly positioned article .release rods 17 and18. The gate arrangement or cage 16 is such that its rotation in acounterclockwise direction for an angular amount equal to the angularspacing between the article release rods 15, 17 and 18 will be effectiveto release the single lowermost can such as the can 12 with the nextlowermost can 13 subsequently supported on the release rod 17 forrelease during a next subsequent vending operation. Thus the entireweight of all of the cans stored for vending in the vertical cordedstack column is carried by a release rod such as the release rod 15 toimpart a downward motion or force on the article release gate or cage 16and hence impart a rotational moment of form during vending.

A crank arm 20 is connected by the lever 21 through a ratchet mechanism,the details of which are not shown in order to simplify the presentdescription of the invention, and the arrangement is such thatreciprocation of the lever 21 and crank arm 20 will rotate the vendingcake 16 in the counter-clockwise direction by an angular amount equal tothe angular spacing between the respective article release rods 15, 17and 18.

As previously mentioned, the weight of the cans stored in corded stackrelation within the article storage column may be considerable, and oncethe article release gate is released for vending movement, such weightmay cause the vending gate to move rapidly to override the electricmotor driving mechanism that is operating the connecting rod 21 andcrank 20. According to the invention, one end of the vending cage 16 isprovided with a bearing hub 30 journalled in the bearing aperture 31 ofthe supporting frame structure 32. At the other end of the vending gate16, the machine supporting structure 33 is provided with an enlargedaperture 34 through which the bearing structure 35 for the shaft 36 ofthe cage 16 extends. It will be noted, vas more particularly describedhereinafter, that the aperture 34 is enlarged so as not to be effectiveas a bearing surface but does function to axially locate the hub 35 ofthe cage 16. A relatively large diameter bearing hub surface 40extending from and around the hub 35 is received in a bearing aperture41 of the combined bearing and brake member 42 of the invention that isfixedly secured to the machine frame 33- by welding or other knowntechniques. It will be noted that the bearing surface 40 is arcuate andthat the bearing surface formed by the aperture 42 is also arcuate andthat one of the arcuate bearing surfaces, which in the preferredembodiment is the fixed outer bearing surface or aperture 40, isrelieved about its lower circumferential portion as shown generally at43.

In a preferred form of the invention the relieved bearing surfacegenerally shown at 43 extends from a point 44 generally coinciding witha horizontal axis line in the direction of rotation side of a verticalaxis through the bearing to a point 46 intermediate the line through avertical axis and the horizontal axis line on the side of the verticalaxis against the direction of rotation. Since the lower portion of thebearing surface 42 is relieved at 43 as described,

a moment of bearing pressure along the bearing surface generallyindicated at 47 will be derived which is proportional to the weight ofcans contained in the storage column above the article releasing gate.Thus with a large number of heavy cans stored in the article storagecolumn above the gate, an increased bearing pressure and braking forcealong the bearing portions 47 will be obtained, but as the cans arevended and the weight of stored cans decreases, the bearing pressurewill accordingly decrease and hence the compensating braking force isautomatically adjustable to maintain the load on the article releasegate operating mechanism substantially constant during a vendingoperation.

It should be understood that the included angle for the relieved portion43 of the hearing may vary provided that the included angle of relievedportion on one side of the vertical axis line is preferably not greaterthan 90. In a presently preferred form of the invention the relievedportion of the lower bearing surface has an included angle that extendsfor about 45 on the side of a vertical centerline through the bearingthat is against the direction of rotation of the gate and extends to atleast 90 on the side of the vertical centerline through the bearing thatis in the direction of rotation of the gate.

It should of course be understood that the combined bearing and brakestructure for a vending gate as described may be used for all of thebearing members of the gate instead of the single bearing member asspecifically described. Also it will be understood that the bearingbrake arrangement may be employed with any movable gate and is not to belimited to its use with a rotatable movable gate only.

It should be further understood that the relieved porproportional to theweight of stored articles supported on the gate comprising, a machinesupport structure, a pivot bearing for each end of said gate carried bysaid support structure, one of said pivot bearings being comprised of afirst arcuate bearing surface on said gate and a second arcuate bearingsurface on said support structure, one of said bearing surfaces beingrelieved along a lower arcuate portion thereon on both side of avertical centerline therethrough so that the weight of stored articlescarried by the gate produces a bearing pressure braking forceproportional thereto between portions of adjoining bearing surfaces, theincluded angle of said relieved portion extending for less than on theside of the vertical centerline through the bearing that is against thedirection of rotation of said gate and extending to approximately 90 onthe side of a vertical centerline through the bearing that is in thedirection of rotation of said gate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 650,852 6/1900 Metzger 308362,053,828 9/1936 Harper 221-295 2,493,223 1/1950 Brock 22167 2,511,0996/1950 Case 221295 3,132,906 5/1964 Sternlicht 308-36 WALTER SOBIN,Primary Examiner.

